# Geckos Should Not Play In Roach Traps **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575 "2009-05-15T21:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maui\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Maui\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maui_Lion)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/1 "2009-05-15T21:39:56Z")
I just saw this morning that I had a gecko freshly-caught in a sticky roach trap in my room. Well little guy, that was not the best place to be looking for food. I couldn’t very well let him die, so I called my friend in to help me. I cut around him carefully with some scissors, and started alternating olive oil and warm water on and around him with breaks in-between to let him catch his breath. Cold water would probably have slowed his metabolism and he wouldn’t have struggled so much, while too hot would scorch the poor thing. Standing for 15 minutes on your one good leg while trying to do olive oil therapy on a gecko is not easy, but with some struggling, Gelato the Gecko is now free and running wild. Now that will be a story for him to tell his friends later. And yes. I named him Gelato. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/2 "2009-05-15T22:05:45Z")
They used to cling to our screen doors, and we’d flick them off. We were mean. We did get one in a roach trap once, and were too late to save the poor little guy. He was a baby too. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Maui\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Maui\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maui_Lion)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/3 "2009-05-15T22:08:04Z")
> [@AudreyK](#): > > They used to cling to our screen doors, and we’d flick them off. We were mean. > > We did get one in a roach trap once, and were too late to save the poor little guy. He was a baby too. ☹ Aw, poor thing.. They’re so cute when they’re little. I saw another one on my screened window here, and he was eating bugs that were clinging to it. It was kinda cool to watch him walk right on up and grab it in his mouth and munch away. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/4 "2009-05-15T22:15:36Z")
Yay for gecko-saving! Live long and prosper, Gelato. ---
**Author:** ![Alastair\_Moonsong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@Alastair\_Moonsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alastair_Moonsong)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/5 "2009-05-15T22:32:58Z")
Heh, cool, I want a gecko! They have sticky velcro feet and eat obnoxious buzzy things! ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/6 "2009-05-15T22:35:05Z")
You know what this is going to do to your car insurance rates, right? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/7 "2009-05-15T23:45:48Z")
Very cool. I own a desert gecko, who is way confident of his climbing abilities, which really aren’t as good as he thinks. And he’s not as hyper as the green geckos - but he is a cutie. ---
**Author:** ![Maui\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Maui\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maui_Lion)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/8 "2009-05-16T18:43:47Z")
> [@Alastair\_Moonsong](#): > > Heh, cool, I want a gecko! They have sticky velcro feet and eat obnoxious buzzy things! And if you stroke the sides of their mouths to make them open, you can put it by your ear so it clamps down and you have a nice earring. Used to do that when I was a kid. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/9 "2009-05-16T21:28:10Z")
I have one that lives in my garage, he’s getting huge, hopefully someday he’ll be big enough to tackle the palmetto bugs and the mice … but not big enough to eat the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/10 "2009-05-16T22:13:57Z")
I thought they were all named Gordon. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geckos-should-not-play-in-roach-traps/496575/11 "2009-05-17T03:40:22Z")
I know when I lived in Florida people kept them inside their homes to eat the Palmetto Bugs (AKA roaches) in their homes. I would always see them without tails, because the cats try to catch them but grab their tails which tend to break off. They are cute little buggers